Category: Issue 07

“I BELIEVE THESE LAWS WILL BE CHANGED AND THAT WHEN MY CHILDREN ARE GROWN UP THEY WILL BE AMAZED THAT LAWS OF THIS SORT COULD HAVE EXISTED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE 20th CENTURY” – MARQUESS OF QUEENSBURY, HOUSE OF LORDS, MAY 1965. (GRANDSON OF PROSECUTOR OF OSCAR WILDE)

One English doctor told his patient to lie on the couch and loosen his clothing. “Then he passed his hands over me, telling me to think beautiful thoughts and forget my evil actions.” Another English doctor told the patient “to pull up my socks, find myself a nice girl and get married,” while the advice of a third to the patient whom he described to his face as ‘namby pamby’, was to get a piece of paper and draw pictures of nude women.” No wonder the patient thought the doctor was “off his rocker.”

These descriptions, taken from The Other Love, by Harford Montgomery Hyde, first published in 1970 and now republished in paperback by Mayflower books, gives an idea of some of the problems facing us still in 1972. They are taken from The Contemporary Scene, the first chapter in the book, where Mr. Montgomery Hyde gives an idea of the various problems that still exist for the homosexual, even though the law has ostensibly changed; that is of course for those of us living in England or Wales, who are not in Her Majesty’s Forces and are over twenty one. In a recent issue of Gay News this book was described by one of our Scottish gay friends as sadly uncontemporary. This is, I think, a little unfair. Mr. Montgomery Hyde is a writer of some standing whose fight for legal reform, particularly in connection with the abolition of capital punishment and homosexual law reform, has made sure that he is very well informed as to specific cases of ill treatment or discrimination by ‘the law’. The case histories, of people who have written to various organisations for help, all of them sadly depressing, are still with us and just as ‘contemporary’ as they were two years ago.

The greatest criteria for judging this ‘Survey of Homosexuality’, is of course to ask “What or who is it for?”‘

This book is really an amalgam of a whole series of books and reports on the subject, giving information about how the legal restrictions came about and showing us a little of our history which for a long time has been conveniently swept under the carpet.

So – Gay News arrives at issue seven, not very bloody and definitely unbowed! We’ve achieved an experimental sixteen-page issue, number six, our subscription list is growing everyday, and we are all getting to know each other. In running the day-to-day business of the paper, the collective are obviously together (for better or worse!) but the contact with everyone who writes to us, telephones, calls in at the office, or buys a copy in the pub, is the really vital thing.

We collect plenty of reactions, from “I think you’re the best thing that’s happened on the gay scene for years!” to “I wouldn’t meet you”
wipe my arse with it.” Many people comment favourably on the lay-out and technical presentation of the paper. It is important to be clear and readable, and we want to maintain and improve these qualities, without we hope, becoming dull. Others of you find that we are too political for your taste, or not political enough. We’ve been advised to “Show where you are ideologically, or you will just be a capitalist ally”, but a lot of other people ask for “some dolly pin-ups, and why don’t you have some fantasy fiction?” What a lovely name for ‘wank-stories’.

One subject that arouses a lot of comment is our personal ads column (see ‘Preference or Prejudice’ below). Are we “Asking to be busted”, or “providing a service that people need”? Perhaps both, but the ads do fulfill a need for a lot of individuals, and it is on this level that the subject should be considered. Whether you have been a subscriber since issue one, or think “Gay News does a disservice to all homosexuals by singling us out as Different” you know what it’s like to be lonely, alone temporarily perhaps or isolated over a long period of time. One knows how one feels, and perhaps can sympathise with someone else in a similar situation, but you cannot solve the problem for another individual, and no-one else can find all the answers for you.

We hope that Gay News is aware of the range of individual view-points, and that we give scope for all opinions in our columns. It doesn’t matter whether you are content with a small social circle, happy cruising alone, busy in a CHE or GLF group, or right out there challenging the whole world. If you know where you are, as an individual person, relating to others, and being as honest as you know how to be, then perhaps you’re on the way to becoming a free soul, free of your own self-repression, and so more able to help clear away ignorance and suppressed fear which block society’s view of homosexuals.

Preference or Prejudice

We’ve had a lot of comment about our policy on personal ads, and some people think that we are discriminatory, although we print a warning about possible racist ads. The “Young black gay? Then white wants to meet you” ad has been criticised as being just as prejudiced as one which says “No Coloureds Please” or some similar phrase. We printed the former, we refused the latter.

We feel that the “Young, black gay” ad indicates a preference, just as someone does if they say “I want to meet a rock music freak” or “well-built, bearded men”, which is not the same thing as excluding one specific group. If every ad had to avoid all statements which indicated preference, ads would be both unreadable and pointless.

Some people feel hurt by ads which say “no effeminates” and we have also been accused of age-ism, because readers feel excluded by phrases like ‘young and dolly preferred’. All we can say is that if someone advertises with us, it’s pointless unless they say what kind of person they want to meet, it’s pie in the sky to imagine that everyone can get on with everyone else, and if some of us aren’t young and dolly’ too bad – there’s a lot of things that improve with age!

A Reminder

We are sure that most of you have now realised that Gay News is a completelyindependentnewspaper. But unfortunately some of you are still under the impression that we are connected with one or more of the gay organisations that are operative in this country. We are not.

Gay News is anindependent, unaffiliatednewspaper for gays of all sexes. We are in no way involved with Gay Liberation Front, Campaign for Homosexual Equality, Scottish Minorities Group, National Federation of Homophile Organisations, or any of the other movements, organisations or associations.

We are, of course, sympathetic to some of the views of these ‘campaigns’ and ‘fronts’ etc., but their doctrines and ideals in no way influence the editorial policy of this paper.

We will print news and run features on what these organisations are up to. But these will take their place alongside what other gay people are doing and are involved in.

Gay News, once again, is anindependentnewspaper for all gays, and we would consider ourselves a failure if we ever departed from this position.

This is to let you know that the University of Bristol Gay Liberation Front Society will be continuing its operations from October on. We are arranging films, talks, meetings, dances and exhibitions for the autumn term. Those wishing to contact us should write to us by name at the above address.

Trevor Locke, Chairman

Stonehill Road,Derby.

Dear Readers,

I would like to congratulate the team who have produced Gay News. They realise they are taking rather a risk, I only hope their labour will not have been in vain.

For those who are reading their first issue of Gay News, I would suggest they take out a subscription.

Being a subscriber myself, I feel we would be getting our money’s worth. In conclusion I would like to say to the team of Gay News: “Carry On Regardless”

I thought the programme put over our case fairly well; the only point I have to make is that the female homosexual was not very well represented. Why was Jackie Forster not on the panel to give their point of view, instead of being just an ordinary radio listener who only was given THREE minutes on the air as a questioner, and the answer to her question was only 22 seconds air time.

I feel that any further programme (if any) should include Mrs Forster to give a balanced point of view, as the females on the programme were not very vocal tonight.

Brian Webb

Mature Wine

Manchester, M20 8NS

Dear All.

Poor James Stevens (letter GN 6). I am sure he is every bit as gorgeous as he protests (sic). But perhaps he is beginning to look haggard chasing all those chicks, or is it that they don’t see his charms in quite the same light. But those kinks, they must be interesting from someone who is so sure he has them!

Poor, poor James; as I fast approach middle age, I know how he feels. Perhaps he should try a slightly more mature wine – me, for instance! What a pity, I have just noticed his PS. to his letter, ”I love Grinspoon” — so that’s me out, am too late again.

Derek Jones

Kick up the arse!

Folkestone, KentKent.

Dear Gay News,

Thank you for issue no. 5. I am sorry to read that the financial state of Gay News is so critical (re editorial). I am enclosing £5, I hope you can find a use for it — I wish I could afford more.

I am convinced that your paper is a very necessary part of the Gay scene, and the important role that it plays and the good which it does overall, is immeasurable.

If the Gay World allows Gay News to sink – I count myself as one of them – they will need a very hard, very severe kick up the arse. My apologies for being vulgar — I feel very strongly about this. Gay News is our link, our voice to the rest of humanity. About who we are, what we think, how we react and what we can contribute to the Peace and Stability of the world.

I do not wish to write a sermon, but there are many things which could be said (or written) and perhaps ought to be. There are, however, many souls far more eloquent than I, who can make a much better job of it, so perhaps I had better leave it to them.

In the meantime, how about it, all you gays, dig deep down and fork out a few bob – this paper needs it. If it goes under, it will be our own bloody fault, so there will be no use in moaning about it.

Why bookshops refuse to sell it beats me, when one sees some of the mags they dish out. Anyway, keep it up, it looks good. I hope things improve for you very soon, and I wish you every success.

Lots of love and best regards,

Jimmy Thatcher

Hypocrisy

West Kensington.

Dear GN,

How about dropping the only bit of hypocrisy that I can find in your otherwise super paper? I mean that silly bit about taking no ads with any form of racial prejudice … are you scared of the Race Relations Board, at a time when you’re obviously not scared of anyone else? Since your ads are mostly blatantly discriminatory — ‘no effeminates’, ‘early mid-twenties’, ‘slim, non-kinky’, “attractive literate preferred’, etc.— what would be wrong with a stated deisre for a ‘hairy homo Hindu’ or sorqe^uch?

Love and peace.

Fair (greying)., Fat and Forty (+)

ED. We are neither scared or beholden to the Race Relations Board. Racial prejudice of the type we refuse to print, and hopefully discourage through our paragraph at the end of the personal ads, is something that is odious and uncivilised, and we believe it to be very different matter to the forms of preference/discrimination found in that column.

We realise that this may be a point of controversy amongst our readers and we welcome any further correspondence on the matter. Particularly, we would welcome comment from our black brothers and sisters.

Sexist Ads

Redcliffe Gdns. London SW10

Dear Gay News,

I was somewhat puzzled to see in your no. 4 issue that after several articles denouncing sexism, there was a whole page of extremely sexist personal ads in the back.

It seems a shame to spoil an otherwise promising paper with ads asking for ‘trendy butch dolly males’.

Yours sincerely.

Andrew Wilson.
(London GLF – without any chip on my shoulder!)

ED. We do not write or censor personal ads. except where absolutely necessary. The Gay News collective prefers to return unacceptable ads, which we cannot print, either because of the encouragement it would give the Director of Public Prosecutions to immediately pounce on us, or because we suspect that the ad is a front for prostitution. The latter reason we have discussed amongst ourselves on numerous occasions, and, because we can never come to an agreement on whether this is a totally inexcusable practice or not, we decline, for now, to accept such ads in our columns.

Is it right or wrong for us to do so? As we have not set ourselves up as moral judges, perhaps readers would let us have their views on this subject.

Also, if Andrew would care to enlighten us, and you, in greater depth on his argument against certain ads. we would only be too willing to publish anything else he may wish to say.

No ‘Bashings’ at Biograph

London

Dear Gay News,

I felt somewhat angered by the letter of BN sent to CHE (of which I too am a member of group 7).

It seemed so infantile and thoughtless in condemnation of our paper. Does he really think any cottage is ‘safe’, and it is a good thing you point out the ones you know are under surveillance. The criticism of the Samaritans I thought constructive, this kind is beneficial, and I have yet to hear of any bashings up involving ‘gays’ at the Biograph. Surely we have enough of a struggle from the present society without our own kind being so bitchy. A lot of us owe very much to a certain section of people who are working very hard in the face of strong opposition to better the lot of us kind, and this includes Gay News, and I look forward to every new edition. Let’s have criticism by all means, but let it be constructive, and let’s all back each other all we can, the old adage unity is strength’ is as true for us as in anything else, so let’s all be united, which we must if we are going to be powerful enough to get things moving.

In another letter, same edition, David Brown refers to a recent letter in issue 3 from Malta as being offensive, and refers to them as the Maltese Meat Market, he is entitled to his opinion of course. But as one who took up this chance of writing to them, I should like in all fairness to point out that I found these lads to be most friendly and hospitable, sincere and willing to please a truly great circle of friends. Nothing like it exists in this country as far as I know, and I would be interested to hear from anyone who would like to form such a group solely for the Pleasure and Enjoyment that meeting new friends can bring. To you all at Gay News I would say carry on the good work; most of us appreciate your efforts, and hope you will meet with success.

B. M.

Telegraph Bigotry

Streatham, London, SW16

Dear Sir,

What bigotry is displayed by the Leader Writer of the Sunday Telegraph in their issue of 25th June, 1972 (Gay News issue No. 5 Page 5).

It has occurred to me that if all gays who take both the Sunday Telegraph and the Daily Telegraph refrained from doing so from now on, the loss of trade (sorry) to that concern would be felt.

My estimation is that at least a million gays take these papers so why not let’s boycott them and see what we can do.

Of course, we would never know the result of our actions but it would be worth a try to educate the bigot who wrote the Leader and then took the unprecedented step of refusing to publish replies giving the other sides’ version of homosexuality but replied individually to the letters sent.

I have cancelled my order – what about you?

“T.E.S.”

Stifle self-pity

London SW7

Dear Gay News,

I suspect the key to the disillusionment of your anonymous correspondent who was ‘tired of being gay‘ is at the end of his letter: ‘…and now another – my ex-affair…’ However restricted the circles he moves in, it cannot really be true that all the gays he knows ‘wear smooth, trendy clothes and expensive immaculate hairstyles’ (that is, unless he’s been very selective), because even in the Boltons and the Colherne many of the customers would certainly not fit that description, and in the provincial pubs some of the clientele could only be described as dowdy. Many of the people who’ve used small ads over the years aren’t into the club and pub scene at all, and finally (though only recently I agree) there are the gay organisations, like CHE and GLF.

My advice to ‘anonymous’ would be, stifle the self-pity, and if you don’t like the gays you know now, try some others.

Peter Norman

Where to get it

Mount Pleasant,
St. Albans, Herts.

Dear Sir,

I should like to point out to any of your readers that may live in or around St Albans that Gay News is stocked by the Index Book Shop, near St Peter’s Church, St Peter’s Street, St Albans. I know that the young woman who runs it has just begun this shop and I am sure that she would appreciate all orders however small they may be. It would be a pity if through lack of demand she should cease to stock Gay News. I might add that I am in no ways interested in Index, nor have I any gain to be made through recommending this shop.

I should also like to say how much I enjoy reading Gay News, and whilst I cannot agree with all the views in it, I do believe that it is by far the best Homosexual paper to have been published to date. May I wish you the best of luck.

Yours sincerely,

David Richardson.

Would Neville Gadd kindly get in touch with us at Gay News. We have lost your address. In other words we have out securitised ourselves. Sorry to bother you, Neville.

One of the Gay News collective, Denis Lemon, was fined £5 when magistrate John Hooper decided to ignore his evidence at Great Marlborough Street Magistrate’s Court.

Denis was charged with the wilful obstruction of the footpath behind the Colherne pub in Earls Court — as reported in GN 5.

Magistrate Hooper started hearing the case on August 22 when police constable David Ford (480) of Chelsea Police said he’d warned Denis to move along four times. But when lunchtime came Mr Hooper decided to adjourn the case for three weeks.

PC Ford said he’d nicked Denis in Wharfdale Street where Denis had been standing in the middle of the road holding up traffic.

When the case started again on September 13, PC Ford had had his say, and Denis’ solicitor Mr Anthony Burton called Denis to give evidence.

He said: “I took photographs of police activity because of the number of allegations we have received of police harassment-outside the pub.

“I took a photograph of two policemen coming towards me and the flash-cube accidentally fell off my camera. I stooped to pick it up, without stopping, and they cautioned me to move on. I walked about 30 or 40 yards up the road to take pictures of the activity outside a coffee bar up the road to help us build up a dossier.

“I crossed the road and took more photographs and then I crossed back again to outside the Colherne and I was standing on the pub’s steps to take more photos, and the police warned me again.

“I walked around the comer in Colherne Road to take more pictures, and then I moved into Wharfdale Street and began to talk to about four people who were standing there, about the police activity.

“I was standing between two parked cars by the kerb. I was standing on the roadway, but there was no traffic for me to hold up.”

PC Ford said that Denis was standing in the middle of the road holding up the traffic. But, when it came to the case, he had very few questions to ask about the traffic.

Doug Pollard, another of the editorial collective, was with Denis when he came out of the Colherne. He said: “I had just come out of the pub when Mr Lemon came out. It was just before 11pm and he gave me a bag he was carrying so he could use his camera.

“He took a picture of two policemen and the flash-cube fell off his camera. As they were passing him the two policemen said something I did not hear to Mr Lemon, and he moved on immediately.”

Wolfgang G. von Jurgen, an actor, told the court: “I was in Wharfdale Road with a few other people and Mr Lemon was standing between two cars parked by the pavement.” Questioned by PC Ford, Wolfgang said:

“Mr Lemon was never standing in the middle of the road, and there was no traffic for him to obstruct.”

Summing up, Anthony Burton said:

“This is really a case where you have to decide whose version of the story you are going to accept.

“If there is to be an obstruction in law, there must be an obstruction in fact, and Mr Lemon may have obstructed the road but it was not wilful.

“Have we come to the day when serious inroads are to be made into the freedom of a press man doing his job? If there was an obstruction it was accidental and trivial.’

Magistrate Hooper, who wears a ring on his small finger left hand, said: “There was a large crowd outside this public house and I am satisfied that the defendant was cautioned to move on four times.”

Denis had pleaded not guilty to obstruction on Wharfdale Street. PC Ford’s mate was too sick to be in court to supply the magistrate with evidence to corroborate the police case, but John Hooper made his decision on one man’s evidence against the three defence witnesses.

Denis left the court in a turquoise zipper, leather jacket with matching slacks and dark blue shoes. He was accompanied by Mr J. D. Grinspoon.

In GN 8 Denis will be commenting on the decision and going further into the implications of the case.

GAY NEWS has promised you a full report on the edition of Radio London’s ‘Platform’ programme produced by the Campaign for Homosexual Equality (CHE). Well, rest assured, it is on its way. The programme was very long, and in fact was extended to almost three hours because of the number of people who phoned in to ask the studio panel questions. This makes for an awful lot of tape to transcribe, but the programme covered a great deal of ground in such detail that we feel we ought to report it in full.

It is perhaps the most comprehensive statement that we have of where CHE, the largest of the gay organisations, is at and where it is going, and also showed up some of the internal differences of that group. Furthermore, Radio London has a limited audience (or had – at the time only those of us in the London area with VHF sets could hear it), and the Platform programme is only heard by a minority of that minority. As many people as possible should be aware of what was said.

So in order to do justice to both CHE and the programme we are holding our full report over to the next issue. We feel that to rush into print at this time would give you only an inadequate report.

In fact, CHE surprised us by dealing with such controversial topics in such detail with little of the formality or prudishness that is often their hallmark. Sex education, adoption by gay couples, marriage and mortgage, parents, school, young gays, old gays, women (though not sufficiently), relationships, cottaging, political and social groups, and many more topics were covered fairly and in some depth. Whilst one may not necessarily agree with some of what was said, it is the first time that such a statement has been broadcast in this country, and the opportunity was fully grasped.

Full marks to Roger Baker for assembling such a balanced studio panel who maintained their sense of humour in the face of some distinctly loaded and difficult questions from listeners.

One’s only complaint is that the introductory statement of facts and studio discussions went on far too long, but that may be because this ‘one’ had heard most of the elementary facts before. Anyone ignorant of gay people and gay life, and the situation for gay people in this country will have learned and profited from hearing the programme.

Despite this the coroner mentioned in his verdict that there was no reason to believe that the vice-squad men had been at all involved in George Duncan’s drowning.

There the matter would have rested had Adelaide not just imported a new police chiei from Scotland Yard, Yorkshire-man Commissioner Salisbury. He called in two of his former colleagues to look into the drowning.

Mr Eric Millhouse asked state premier Don Dunstan when the Scotland Yard men would be going home.

Mr Dunstan said there was no limit set on the investigation, and that Commissioner Salisbury was unlikely to set a limit on the job.

Mr Millhouse said: “I understand they (the Scotland Yard men) are here at the Government’s expense.

“No doubt the Government is anxious not to increase the expenses, because they refuse to meet the costs of the witnesses at the coroner’s inquest.”

Premier Dunstan said the Yard men weren’t going home until Mr Salisbuty was satisfied that everything was finished.

There were fifteen of us gay revolutionaries, and fifteen hundred of them, on that grey September Sunday in Trafalgar Square, that Sunday showground of political ping pong. Both sides wore their badges avidly and made regular appropriate sounds: – “Gay is good,” “Jesus is great”. There were religious pop songs and recitals from J. Christ’s holy scribblings, but Messrs. Longford, Richard, Muggeridge and Whitehouse were nowhere in evidence at this Nuremberg Rally 1972. Perhaps they were too busy riding round the Circle Line, planning how they could give Edwina the Jesus Christ image.

Outnumbered us gay liberationists may have been, but we certainly made ourselves heard. The famous Maurice Tasker, bastion of the London GLF office suffers from a sore throat to this day, and as for that Martin Corbett, Gay News’ butch queen and beer gut, he was going around asking every pretty male Festival of Lighter, when they last had it. There were certainly some red faces, and later on in the evening after the rally, there were some red ends too. Myself, I treated the occasion very seriously and had several discussions with Jesus freaks, who all said exactly the same thing, as instructed by headquarters. I am a sinner according to the Bible; I’m as good as dead because I don’t love Jesus. That sounds rather monotonous and I tried to say that religion was and still is one of the greatest oppressive forces, especially for gay people, since it preaches encouragement of the family structure. If Jesus loves us why is half the world starving, and why is the Pope telling women not to take the Pill, thus aggravating the population explosion. None of them seemed to take much notice of me though, so it was quite a relief when four radical feminists arrived. They really put the whole afternoon in perspective as they sauntered into the square, looking like opera singers, wearing beautiful togs by “Bona Lallies” of Colville Terrace. The afternoon was beautifully rounded off by some rather pretty festival of lighters throwing lumps of stale J. Lyons white bread at everyone in sight. Silly me, I ate it and was constipated for three whole days, after which I started shitting plastic crosses.

One of my regular occupations in the homphile movement seems to be to try to explain what the Gay Liberation Front is doing, and why, to hostile members of the Campaign for Homosexual Equality who hate to think their ‘respectable’ image is being tarnished by radical gays. On the occasion of the GLF All-London Come Together (also known as a Think-in and a Whither GLF?) at the Holborn Assembly Hall on Saturday, September 9, however, I couldn’t help but compare this meeting with one held in the same place by London CHE a few weeks back — a meeting which started on time, got through an enormous amount of work, and gave considerable (and well-deserved) satisfaction to most of those who participated.

In contrast, the GLF meeting had – for GLF – a poor attendance: about 120 brothers and a few sisters for all of London; by 1 pm, when the meeting was scheduled to start, the hall was still almost empty, and only in fact began soon after 3 pm because one brother got fed-up at the time being wasted and shouted to everyone to sit down.

As for deeds accomplished, there were the usual arguments among groups and individuals, many of whom displayed an arrogant, smug, holier-than-thou attitude that accorded ill with the ideology of love that they were expounding. The arguments were those that have been repeated ad nauseum in GLF circles for the past year or so. Only two practical proposals emerged from all the bluster and were apparently accepted: one was that all-London meetings should be held once every month, and the other was that a ginger group be formed in order to attempt to restore the spirit that made GLF such a force to be reckoned with up to a few months ago.

I don’t for one moment suggest that GLF adopt any of the often-stifling forms and rituals of the CHE bureaucratic structure, but some means must be found to make the term liberation meaningful again.

Much talk has gone on lately about self-awareness being the most important aspect of gay consciousness. Okay. But self-awareness is only a part of gay life, not its totality. Self-awareness, consciousness-raising, call it what you will, is frequently used as an excuse for sitting around rapping and taking little or no action about anything. To be truly liberated means to care about your brothers and sisters, to want to protect them against the oppressions of the straight world; the obvious corollary is that they shouldn’t have to be protected against you. Yet ‘liberated’ gays are still oppressing their own brothers and sisters and this is an oppression that takes many forms. A heavy form is being vicious, either verbally or physically, towards a brother or sister; another form is simply being late to a meeting and thereby wasting the time of those who are waiting for you. If you want to do your own thing, as many GLF people declare they do, then you can’t belong to a group, because every individual doing his own thing is going to tear that group apart. But if you are really committed to GLF, then some personal sacrifice is involved, because commitment means a love of those people who are working with you and a respect for their ideas, even when they differ from your own.

Poor Alice Cooper is in trouble, they/him have run foul of Mrs Mary Whitehouse over their latest single, “School’s Out”. The television film which was shown with the playing of the record on ‘Top of the Pops’ was also damned by Mrs Whitehouse and her flock, the National Viewers and Listeners Association.

The dear lady has been telling tales to the Home Secreatry about the naughty Director of Public Prosecutions, Sir Norman Skelhorn, who apparently has taken no action over Mrs M’s heated complaints about Alice and his/their record.

It’s all the DPP’s fault though, according to our moral-protector. His office is grossly understaffed to cope with the growing volume of complaints about violence and sexually perverted material she reports, and goes on to say that Alice’s record “held violent and anarchistic connotations”. The DPP being so busy that he didn’t even try to see the ‘Top of the Pops’ film was something else she told anyone who would listen, in this case the Home Secretary’s office. She further stated that the police were powerless to act because of the DPP’s ineffectiveness.

Amidst all the obscenity, and the “permissiveness of the DPP’s office” taking place at a furious pace all around us, Mrs M is fighting a long and hard battle to stamp it out.

Other interests of hers include a ‘healthy’ involvement in the crusade of the Festival-of-Lighters. That streamlined organisation is well
known for its anti-gay tendencies. One of their earlier accomplices is the star of Sunday television religious hour, Malcolm Muggeridge. That gentleman is infamous for his now epic remark “1 don’t like homosexuals”. This ‘delightful’ phrase was delivered as a result of him forgetting his lines, amongst other things, during a speech he was making at the Festival-of-Lighters opening ceremony at the Central Hall, Westminster, in 1971.

If you ask me Mrs M is suffering from a bad case of ‘wet and twisted knickers’